take your pick...

[BCHISTORIAN]

it's never too early to discuss next year's draft.
so i found this piece:

www.nbadraft.net/2006positional.asp

what are your early favourites? mine:

pg - rajon rondo
sg - adam morrison
sf - don't care
pf - josh mcroberts, lamarcus aldridge
c - don't see anybody good

[DERRENMATTS]

I'm a big time fan of Rajon. Even as a high schooler, you could see his amazing athleticism and excellent feel for the game. He's as heady a PG as I've seen in a long time. If he was an offensive player, he'd remind me of Allen Iverson. I've got a thread running around somewhere on this board about what I thought of his game. To capitalize on the moment, I will tell you all to keep your eyes and ears open for a young PG by the name of Mario Chalmers. Remember, that name and remember who you've heard it from first.

BC, here's my pre-season favorite lineup:

PG- Jordan Farmer (I like this guy a lot, but it could easily go to Rondo or Marcus Williams)
SG- JJ Reddick (this is just a tentative pick)
SF- Adam Morrison (he's not going to be a SG--not quick enough. He's a natural SF. Rudy Gay could also be a possibility, but he's got to show more consistency first).
PF- Tiago Splitter (I guess I'll go with Splitter. I'd like to put Josh Boone in there, but he's got to get out of his funk first).
C- Shelden Williams (not really my ideal player, but right now, no one else seems to be better).

[BCHISTORIAN]

darn i forgot about splitter - he's best of the bunch hands down. and morrison is sf indeed i was surprised to see him at sg in that article.
didn't marcus williams have trouble with the law (stole some lap-tops in his campus), otherwise i like his game a lot

[DERRENMATTS]

Yeah, Marcus did steal some computers. This kid is just prone to getting into trouble. This might be his downfall.

I like Jordan Farmar. He's much like Delonte in a lot of ways, except he's more of a floor leader. He's more of a playmaker than Delonte. I kind of see him as a Kirk Hinrich player, except not as shifty as Hinrich. But like Kirk, he's just as dangerous to pull the trigger on a three pointer if you leave him open. Delonte is a bit too unselfish with his offense, though the more comfortable he gets, he may be looking to score more often.

[BCHISTORIAN]

i expect to see much more confident delonte this season

[DERRENMATTS]

You know, in the playoff series vs. Indiana, I've seen so much positive things in Delonte--things that just don't show up on stat sheets. You always here the comment that a guy is "always around the ball"--well, that's Delonte. He hangs around after the shot and drifts toward the basket and he comes up with rebounds you didn't expect for him to grab. Or he'll make stabs at the ball and actually knock it away from the ball handler, even if he's not guarding the guy.

Delonte has a lot of good things about him. He has a lot of "X" factors, or intangibles. Remember when Payton and Jiri Welsch were leaving Boston at the trading deadline (Payton to ATL and Jiri to CLE), they both commented to Doc that Delonte is the guy to watch.

[BCHISTORIAN]

the only thing that delonte did wrong last year were his hesitation to shoot. he always tried to give the ball to pp or gp. both black holes

[Celtic17]

bchistorian said:

the only thing that delonte did wrong last year were his hesitation to shoot. he always tried to give the ball to pp or gp. both black holes

I think a lot of this hesitation was due to his injuries and the time he missed in practice. He might have been pressing the whole "PG role", rather than letting his game flow. With a season under his belt he should have a more balanced game, pass vs shot.

[DERRENMATTS]

That's a good reason why Delonte passed the ball up a lot, C17. I also think that maybe it had to do with the control both players (Pierce and Payton) had on the team. They are the usual ones who have the ball in their hands, a being that Delonte was just a rookie who only had like 1/3 of the season to play in, he didn't feel that it was his place to dictate the offense. It was a whole other story when the young guys were in--he looked so much more like a floor general.

[VI_CelticsFan]

Here's who I like positional wise.

PG- Rajon Rondo... I like this kid A LOT. I hope danny can find a way to get him
SG- Ronnie Brewer... Look out for this kid. I saw him play down here in the Virgin Islands last year for a college tournament and he is a real talent. A LeBron James type.
SF- Adam Morrison... I like him too. I see some Larry B in him, except he probably won't put up the same stats in the NBA.
PF- LaMarcus Aldridge... He is a talent as well. I also like that kid Paul Milsap that derren talked about in a seperate thread. He is a monster of a rebounder.
C- Shelden Williams... He could be an upgrade over Perkins despite being an inch shorter.

And thats 500 posts. Only half way to 1000!

[DERRENMATTS]

I didn't know you are from the Virgin Islands, E. I always thought you lived in the states.

Though we may like Rajon, I don't know how Ainge feels about PG's who aren't good shooters. Rajon is an exceptional penetrator, but I have yet to see this kid resemble a shooter.

LaMarcus Aldridge looked good in the game I saw early last year, before he went down with a hip condition. Coming out of high school, I thought he was going to be a Tony Battie clone. But he looked like a much better prospect than Battie. He looked tougher and better built. From my first impression (which, to be honest, was only one game), I think he has more potential than Channing Frye, which isn't such a big endorsement. But nonetheless, he impressed me enough to the point where I'll be looking forward to seeing more Texas games just to get a better look at him.

I've heard about Ronnie Brewer and lot of scouting reports say good stuff about him. I have yet to watch him so I don't know what to think yet. Another guy who is making similar headlines is Marty Collins. I'm interested in seeing both of these guys this season.

[Roadrunner]

Morrison looks like a player to watch. McRoberts...C Parks, part due.

[meltinjohn]

celtic17 said:

bchistorian said:

the only thing that delonte did wrong last year were his hesitation to shoot. he always tried to give the ball to pp or gp. both black holes

I think a lot of this hesitation was due to his injuries and the time he missed in practice. He might have been pressing the whole "PG role", rather than letting his game flow. With a season under his belt he should have a more balanced game, pass vs shot.

I agree with this. I think Delontes stats will get better and better. I can expect to see an 11ppg player next season with 4 assists per game or something and 1 steal per game on average. Then the year after, I see it only going up more if he doesn't get hurt again. I like what the kid has to offer even though at times, he looked inconsistant with GP and Pierce in there. I think when he plays with the other young guys, he does better opposed to the controlling veterans. Oh heres something I should mention in regards to him being a floor general, he even said in an interview how he likes to be a leader so I can expect to see this out of him in the future being more vocal.

[DERRENMATTS]

To be fair to McRoberts, I do feel that he is better than Cherokee Parks (that's a pretty low blow, RR ;D ). Better athleticism and a more diverse game.

I can see a good bond building between Delonte and Raef. These two guys may be able to work the two man game very well.

[Roadrunner]

Derren, OK I was just making a comparison vs their physical appearance. I will make it an appoint to watch McRoberts this season and let you know what I think.